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What if $BIXT 's antiviral is used with Ifus cattle feed to stop bird flu?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/chicken-waste-fed-to-cattle-may-be-behind-bird-flu-outbreak/
The Telegraph
Ground-up chicken waste fed to cattle may be behind bird flu outbre...
Experts warn that lax regulations could also see the virus spread to US pig farms, with serious consequences for human health

[10:36 PM]
Fears are growing that the H5N1 outbreak among cattle in the United States could have been caused by contaminated animal feed.

In contrast to Britain and Europe, American farmers are still allowed to feed cattle and other farm animals ground-up waste from other animals including birds.

Dairy cows across six US states – and at least one farm worker – have become infected with the highly pathogenic virus, which has already killed millions of animals across the globe since 2021.

The farm worker, who is thought to have been exposed via infected cattle in Texas, is only the second recorded human H5N1 case in the US. Since February, the US has investigated and discounted a further 8,000 possible exposures, according to Dr Joshua Mott, WHO senior advisor on influenza.

The development is of concern because it allows the virus, which has killed millions of birds and wild mammals around the world, more opportunities to mutate.
[10:39 PM]
Experts fear that H5N1, which was only first detected in cows a few weeks ago, may have been transmitted through a type of cattle feed called “poultry litter” – a mix of poultry excreta, spilled feed, feathers, and other waste scraped from the floors of industrial chicken and turkey production plants.

In the UK and EU, feeding cows proteins from other animals has been tightly regulated since the outbreak of BSE – or ‘mad cow disease’ – 30 years ago.

Experts are unsure but fear it could be the poultry litter feed used in the US that has passed the virus to cattle.

“In the US, the feeding of poultry litter to beef cows is a known factor in the cause of botulism in cattle, and is a risk in the case of H5N1,” said Dr Steve Van Winden, Associate Professor in Population Medicine at the Royal Veterinary College.

Dr Tom Peacock, a virologist and fellow at the Pirbright Institute agreed: “This latest case wouldn’t be the first time there have been concerns H5N1 could be moving through different mammals via contaminated feed,” citing the outbreak of avian flu in cats in Poland last year, which experts suspected might have been transmitted through mink byproducts used in raw cat food.

The US cattle industry is worth over $100 billion and regulations covering animal standards there have long been controversial in Europe – most famously over the use of hormones in the rearing of cattle for meat.
[10:40 PM]
Although the presence of H5N1 in US cattle herds increases the risk of the virus getting into humans via farm workers, it is the spread of the virus to pig farms that presents the bigger threat.

This is because pigs have receptors on some cells that are similar to humans, making it much more likely that the virus could mutate and jump to humans if pig farms become infected.

So far, the virus hasn’t shown any signs of worrying mutation, however.

“Infection of H5N1 in pigs is of particular concern – they are highly susceptible to human influenza virus strains so could act as mixing vessels for avian and human viruses to mix and generate viruses that can more efficiently infect humans,” said Dr Tom Peacock.

Poultry litter is not only cheaper than other food sources like soy and grains but is also more calorie-dense, meaning farmers can bulk up their herds much more quickly.